Hundreds of demonstrators – many of whom self-identified as Tea Party members – gathered Tuesday outside the Internal Revenue Service office in Santa Ana, part of a nationwide protest against the targeting of conservative groups that applied for 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status.

Of the dozens of protesters interviewed by a Register editorial writer, almost all said they believed they had been unfairly targeted or said they knew someone targeted.

Deborah Pauly, a Villa Park councilwoman, told the Register that her husband last year had been asked by the IRS to provide additional information about his tax return.

"They wanted a lot of clarification," she said. "After we sent it in, they said it had been a mistake."

Many Americans have long argued that government is too big, but paranoia that the government is out to get you – long the realm of conspiracy theorists – is gaining some understandable traction.

President Barack Obama took appropriate steps to assuage those concerns last week, expressing anger and vowing to hold accountable those responsible for the targeting. But, so far, not much else has come out of the White House with regard to the scandal.

Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, a seat warmer, was forced out May 15. He was not in the top spot when the targeting took place, although, he told a congressional committee that, as deputy commissioner, he knew of the targeting in May 2012.

Whether Ms. Pauly and the other protesters were targeted or contacted as the result of legitimate inquires by the IRS will remain unknown until a proper investigation. But, unless decisive action is taken by the president, a belief that the IRS has been politicized will continue to grow. In a Fox News poll released Tuesday, 66 percent of respondents said they believed the Obama administration knew about the practice, and 29 percent of those believed the IRS may have taken direction from the White House.

If the president really wished to show his anger over the scandal and restore greater confidence in the rule of law and an already unpopular IRS, more officials would be held accountable, notably, Lois Lerner.

Ms. Lerner headed the agency's tax-exempt organizations division and was first thought to be something of a whistle-blower on the targeting. However, she is now accused of planting a question at an American Bar Association meeting to acknowledge the targeting, get ahead of the scandal, and soften the blow. Ms. Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

It is fundamental for citizens to know in their everyday interactions with the government, including when they file a tax return or apply for a tax exemption, that they are free from reprisal for their political beliefs. Mr. Obama could, and should, do more to reassure the American public.

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